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06/03/1997 - City Council Public Works Committee I oy AGENDA PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE MEETING Tuesday June 3, 1997 3:45 p.m. 2°' Floor Conference Rooms A & B Municipal Center Building I. ROLL CALL & ADOPTION OF AGENDA II. VISITORS TO BE HEARD III. PROPOSED FIRE ADMINISTRATION BUILDING IV. BLACKHAWK ROAD RESTORATION V. OTHER BUSINESS VI. ADJOURNMENT MEMO city of eagan TO: PUBLIC WORKS COMM. MEMBERS BLOMQUIST& WACHTER FROM: CITY ADMINISTRATOR HEDGES DATE: MAY 30, 1997 SUBJECT: PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE MEETING/JUNE 3 A meeting of the Public Works Committee is scheduled for 3:45 p.m. on Tuesday, June 3, in the second floor Conference Rooms A and B at the Municipal Center Building to discuss the proposed Fire Administration Building Project and the Blackhawk Road restoration.. PROPOSED FIRE ADMINISTRATION BUILDING PROJECT Since the last meeting, the City Administrator, through Assistants to the City Administrator Duffy and Hohenstein, has gathered information regarding the innovation grant and the availability of cable franchise fees. Enclosed on pages .. through 3 is a copy of a memo from Assistant to the City Administrator Duffy regarding possible funding. Also enclosed on pages if through S is a copy of minutes of the Public Works Committee meeting that was held on Monday, May 19,at the Fire Administration Building. BLACKHAWK ROAD RESTORATION Property owners adjacent to Blackhawk Road are making requests of the City to replace sod that was installed as a part of the Blackhawk Road improvement project. In a number of cases, the sod restoration was not successful; residents are asking the City to consider removing the existing sod and replacing a new sod cover. The City Administrator and Director of Public Works would like an opportunity to visit with the Public Works Committee regarding this matter. For additional information, refer to the attached memo from Public Works Director Colbert enclosed on pages , through 2 . As stated in the memo, members are encouraged to drive Blackhawk Road and examine the sod condition prior to Tuesday's meeting. OTHER BUSINESS There are no items for Other Business. The meeting will adjourn at approximately 5:00 p.m., allowing time for the Councilmembers and staff to have dinner before the regular Council meeting. /S/ Thomas L. Hedges City Administrator cc: Craig Jensen, Fire Chief Tom Colbert, Director of Public Works TLH/vmd Jr J MEMO - city of eagan TO: CITY ADMINISTRATOR HEDGES FROM: ASSISTANT TO THE CITY ADMINISTRATOR DUFFY DATE: MAY 28, 1997 SUBJECT: POSSIBLE FUNDING FOR FIRE ADMINISTRATION BUILDING Following the last meeting of the City Council's Public Works Committee, you asked me to research if there would be any grant funding to help in the construction of the Fire Administration Building. According to the State Fire Marshal's Office and the Fire Center at Metro State, there has not been that type of funding available for at least the last ten to fifteen years. However, the State Board of Innovation and Cooperation will award grants for government innovative and cooperative efforts in January or February of 1998. There is a total "pot" of $750,000 to be awarded state-wide. The maximum amount for planning is $50,000 and the maximum amount for construction of any project is $100,000. The application process is in two parts. First, during the month of June, 1997, a brief pre- application is submitted to the Board. The applications will be rated and those with the most points will be asked to submit a more in-depth application. The pre-application packets are being prepared and you will be sent one as soon as they are ready. I have been told that "innovation" is more important than cooperation. The Board is looking for something new that has not been done before and that can be used as a model by other forms of government. Therefore, merely proposing a joint training facility would probably not receive many points because it has been done before. I left a voice mail message for Fire Chief Jensen regarding this information and suggested that the department begin investigating innovations which would make their proposal unique. You also asked Jon Hohenstein to provide information regarding the current retained cable franchise fee balance and the total franchise fee contribution to the City Hall building project. Attached please find an E-Mail from him regarding those amounts. Please note that, after he sent you the information, Jon discovered that the $936,594 franchise fee amount did not include a capital transfer made in 1996 of $28,000. Therefore, the figure is actually $908,594. If you need further information, please contact me. Assistant to a City Admin. trator Attachment Tom Hedges From: Jon Hohenstein Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 1997 4:52 PM To: Tom Hedges Subject: Retained Cable Franchise Fee Contribution-City Hall Remodeling Tom, As we discussed, I asked Tom Pepper to provide the current retained cable franchise fee balance and the total franchise fee contribution to the City Hall building project. The current balance in the fund is$936,594. This balance includes the 1996 franchise fees which were paid in March ($289,677) and is net of our annual contribution to the Commission budget($75,715)which is matched by Burnsville. In recent years the net difference between fees received and the Commission budget has been slightly more than$200,000. The City Hall project received a total contribution of$396,630 from retained franchise fees. This included $200,000 in electrical, carpentry and acoustical work in the Council Chambers to make it cable compatible and $196,630 in new media equipment. This contribution was based on the finding that the sound, lighting and media systems would contribute to the City's ability to better communicate with the public at Council meetings and in the cable audience. The City also uses retained franchise fees as a funding source for a portion of the Communications Coordinator's position and other cable related costs. While there is no statutory limitation, cities tend to restrict their use of franchise fees to cable and communications activities. The industry criticizes cities which use the funds to"fill pot holes" or provide other general government activities and use the criticism as an argument to Congress to remove the authority of cities to collect the fees. It is up to the City Council to interpret what it considers to be cable or communications related as it may pertain to the Fire Administration Building. It may also be possible to make the training facility a multipurpose location for other communications activities or communications production. I hope that this is the information that you need. Let me know if you need anything else. Jon Subject to Approval MINUTES OF THE PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE MEETING Monday, May 19, 1997 A Public Works Committee meeting was held on Monday, May 19, 1997 at the Fire Administration Building at 4:00 p.m., for the purpose of conducting a fact finding to give further consideration to the Fire Administration Building Project. Present at the meeting were Public Works Committee members, City Blomquist and City Councilmember Wachter. Also in attendance were members of the Fire Department Building Committee including Fire Chief Jensen, Mark Sportelli, Mark Adam, Dave Diloi, Lowell Bahrke, David Kroos of the Architectural firm of Boarman, Kroos, Pfister, Vogel and Associates, and the Fire Secretary, Karen Kelly. City Administrator Hedges was also present. The first item of business was to tour the Fire Administration Building and ambulance quarters. The need and reasons for additional space were reviewed by Chief Jensen. Mr. Kroos, representing the architectural firm provided an explanation of proposed project cost, stating that the $1.5 million budget is not adequate to meet the building program which includes a full basement, centralized ambulance facility, and Fire Department space needs, including a training room. He further stated that ADA changes and the fact that the architect who provided the cost estimate in 1996 did not include soil samplings and other site development costs have skewed the budget. City Councilmember Blomquist stated that the City Council is serious about holding the capital budget to$1.5 million. City Councilmember Wachter stated that he has some questions about the budget amount stating that Mr. Kroos has done a very thorough job about identifying all project costs and possibly the budget is not adequate to accomplish all of the City's objectives. He further stated that reducing the building to 9,000 square feet is not acceptable. He further stated that possibly the new Fire Administration Building could include a new basement and first level with the possible expansion of a second floor addition in the future. City Councilmember Blomquist stated that this alternative would delay the necessity for a new training room and could the Fire Department use the Community Room at the Municipal Center Building for the Monday evening and Tuesday morning training. Mr. Kroos, representing the architectural firm, stated that if a second story is built in the future, the cost would be approximately twice as much as doing it now. He stated that with the modification of the mechanical system and the ongoing construction, it would mean displacement of the firefighter personnel during that time of construction. Chief Jensen stated that training is a main priority for proceeding with the new building. Chief Jensen and District Chief Dave Diloi discussed the various.types of training needs which include evening and day sessions for new trainees, officer training, Hasmat training, classes for CPR and the Monday evening and Tuesday a.m. training sessions. Mr. Lowell Bahrke, training officer, stated that there is a desire to centralize metro training for Dakota County cities at this location to provide an 80% savings of out of pocket training needs to the City. District Chief Diloi also stated that having the training room incorporated into the Fire Administration Building provides a greater efficiency for all the training devices such as video tapes and related equipment are in a storage area adjacent to the training room. City Councilmember Blomquist stated that she can better appreciate the need for a training facility after hearing the explanation by the firefighters and stated that she is intrigued by the collaborative spirit to provide joint training with other communities as a part of the metro training board. She further asked if any grant dollars were available for training programs with other Dakota County communities. She further suggested that cable franchise fees be given some consideration for funding the equipment and training facility room. City Administrator Hedges stated that he will review the possibilities for franchise fees and also check with the State of Minnesota to determine whether an innovation grant might be possible for funding a joint purpose training room. Public Works Committee Minutes/May 19, 1997 Page 2 City Administrator Hedges stated that if the Fire Department cablecasts fire prevention training and other community programming, cable franchise fees would be an acceptable revenue source. Public Works Chair person Wachter stated that funding alternatives will be reviewed by the City Administrator and that the next meeting of the Public Works Committee to further consider the Fire Administration Building will be scheduled for Tuesday, June 3 at 3:45 p.m., at the Eagan Municipal Center Building. TLH Chair Secretary MEMO ENGINEERING DIVISION city of eagan TO: THOMAS L. HEDGES, CITY ADMINISTRATOR FROM: THOMAS A. COLBERT, DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS DATE: MAY 29, 1997 SUBJECT: BLACKHAWK ROAD RESTORATION ISSUE The boulevard turf along both sides of Blackhawk Road from Blue Cross Road to Deerwood Drive has experienced severe failure. City staff are receiving increasing calls and complaints from affected property owners inquiring as to when the City will be replacing and restoring all dead turf/sod. BACKGROUND Blackhawk Road was reconstructed in 1994 under City Project 665 (Contract 94-03). With the installation of utility service extensions, new concrete curb and gutter and a trailway along the east side of Blackhawk Road, the vast majority of the boulevard section along this segment of Blackhawk Road was reconstructed and resodded. The new sod installation was performed in - the fall of 1994. Any areas that did not survive the following winter were replaced and repaired under the contract during the Spring of 1995. The sod was well established and survived the remainder of the 1995 and the entire 1996 growing seasons. The contract received final acceptance and final payment was issued on September 5, 1995. The final assessment hearing was held on June 6, 1995. CONCERNS The limits of the turf failure, as identified in the Spring of 1997, very closely follow the limits of construction and new sod that was placed in 1994. Reasons for its severe failure after two growing seasons is a mystery. There are only a handful (3 - 4) of locations where the sod did survive without any noticeable adverse impacts. An interview with one of the property owners whose sod survived indicated the survival was probably a direct result of their personal care and attention through timely watering and a programmed application of fertilizer. Field measurements of the dead turf indicate approximately 6,000 square yards are in need of replacement. At an estimated cost of$3.00 per square yard, this would result in approximately $15,000 - $20,000 if the City were to assume this work through a contract. Typically, a contractor is responsible for warranting the life of a sod through the first 30 days of the growing season. Notices are provided to adjacent property owners informing them of the need to continue to water and care for the new sod to insure its survival rate. With the contract being closed out and more than two years having elapsed since its placement, there is no opportunity to involve the contractor in any of the repair/restoration efforts and related expenses. SUMMARY The Council should determine how long the City should assume maintenance responsibility for newly established turf installed through either public improvement contracts or repair of boulevards resulting from snow plow damage. I would appreciate it if you could let me know how best to approach this policy issue with the City Council so that staff can provide appropriate response to the adjacent property owners. Respectfully submitted, . Director of Public Works • cc: Arnie Erhart, Superintendent of Streets&Equipment Stan Lexvold,Construction Supervisor